Robert J. Porter

Politician. Born: 1831, Pennsylvania.

An unmarried Troy merchant when elected as a delegate to the Wyandotte Convention, Robert Porter was born in Pennsylvania (circa 1831) and moved to Kansas from Ohio in 1857. On October 5 of that year he was elected county treasurer of Doniphan County. Although he seems to have remained relatively silent on the convention floor, Porter served on executive department, electors and elections, and the phraseology and arrangement committees and was engaged throughout; he was one of only four signers of the proposed constitution (i.e. Republicans) to have voted for the annexation of the south Platte country. All the Democratic delegates voted in favor of this proposition, but according the James Hanway, Republicans generally rejected the idea for a number of reason; but "one thing is evident, it is an Administration movement, and we do not feel will to be trapped in a project of doubtful utility."

Entry: Porter, Robert J.

Author: Kansas Historical Society

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and sharing the state's history.

Date Created: June 2011

Date Modified: July 2012

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